PITTSBURGH – As he made his way here to address a gathering of union leaders on Tuesday, President Obama stopped by a General Motors plant in Ohio, where he said the government's intervention in the automobile industry "may not have been popular," but helped jumpstart the struggling sector.
"In the midst of a deep recession and financial crisis, the collapse of the auto industry would have caused enormous damage to our economy," Mr. Obama said. "So we intervened for one simple and compelling reason: your survival and the success of our economy depended on it."
The president visited an assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, where about 800 idled workers have recently been called back to their jobs to help meet new demand because of an increase in sales with the Cash for Clunkers program. He inspected a Chevy Cruze, a new car that is designed to get 40 miles per gallon, and praised the industry for retooling itself.
But as he stood on a factory floor in the Mahoning Valley of northeastern Ohio, where unemployment is surpasses the national average, he warned of tough days ahead.
"Even though you're proving that American automakers are getting back in the game, I think everybody understands our economic troubles are far from over," Mr. Obama said. "I don't want to overpromise you."
Before delivering his speech, the president met with a dozen General Motors workers. One of them, Jon Carmichael of Cortland, Ohio, told reporters that he raised Mr. Obama's decision late last week to impose tariffs on Chinese tires and encouraged him to levy more tariffs to protect American manufacturing.
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